Justyn Mutts finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists as Virginia Tech withstood a determined challenge from Charleston Southern in a 69-64 victory Friday night in Blacksburg, Va.

Sean Pedulla scored 15 points and Darius Maddox added 12 as the Hokies (6-1) survived a game that was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than six points.

Mutts was the dominant figure down the stretch. In the final 4:10, he scored seven of the Hokies’ 11 points. He also fed Lynn Kidd (11 points, eight rebounds) for a slam dunk with 1:22 left that gave Virginia Tech the lead for good, 66-64.

With three seconds left, Hunter Cattoor sewed it up with a pair of free throws.

Charleston Southern (2-3) was gunning for one of its biggest wins in program history and its first victory in seven meetings with the Hokies.

Claudell Harris Jr. scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, and Taje’ Kelly powered inside for 16 points and nine rebounds for the Buccaneers.

Tahlik Chavez added 12 points and Tyeree Bryan contributed 11 points, and they combined for seven 3-pointers.

The Buccaneers made eight of their first 16 attempts from distance before missing their final six, including three in the final half-minute.

A 3-pointer by Chavez gave Charleston Southern its biggest lead of the first half, 14-8.

But Virginia Tech answered with an 11-1 run, holding the Buccaneers without a field goal for nearly four minutes. Cattoor made a 3-pointer during the spree and Pedulla added two buckets as the Hokies went up 19-15.

Charleston Southern had an immediate response with consecutive 3-pointers from Tres Berry and Bryan.

A 3-pointer by Grant Basile, followed by a three-point-play jumper in the lane by Mutts gave Virginia Tech its biggest lead of the half, 27-21.

But the Buccaneers responded again with treys by Chavez and Bryan.

When Kidd powered inside for a timely three-point-play with just three-tenths of a second, it gave the Hokies a 37-33 halftime lead.

The game stayed tight throughout the second half. Virginia Tech scored six straight points to take a 60-56 lead with 4:10 left.

But Kelly grinded inside for back-to-back baskets to keep the hopes alive for the Buccaneers.

– Field Level Media

Grant Sherfield scored a season-high 25 points to lead Oklahoma to a 77-64 win over Seton Hall in a semifinal of the ESPN Events Invitation on Friday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The Sooners (5-1), who have won five consecutive games since a season-opening loss to Sam Houston State, will take on Ole Miss in Sunday’s championship game, while the Pirates will play Siena in the third-place matchup.

Sherfield made 9 of 17 shots in the victory, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range for the Sooners. Sam Godwin scored a season-high 12 points while Jalen Hill and Jacob Groves added 10 apiece.

Al-Amir Dawes led Seton Hall (4-2) with 12 points, making four 3-pointers. KC Ndefo and Dre Davis were the Pirates’ only other double-figure scorers with 10 points each.

Outside of Dawes’ 4-for-5 night from deep, the Pirates were just 1-for-8 from beyond the arc.

The Sooners’ Tanner Groves played just six minutes in the first half after picking up his second foul about 10 minutes into the game. But he was a huge factor in the second half, finishing with eight points, five rebounds and two steals in his 15 minutes of action.

After making all three of his 3-pointers and scoring a season-high 17 in Thursday’s win over Nebraska, Groves was held scoreless until his 3-pointer with about 12 minutes remaining put the Sooners in front 52-51. He picked up his fourth foul with more than 11 minutes left, sending him to the bench until less than six minutes remained.

But Groves came up big down the stretch before fouling out in the final minutes.

With less than three minutes left, Groves leapt up to grab the ball off Sherfield’s blocked shot and quickly shoveled it up to the basket to score as the shot clock wound down to put the Sooners up 10 at 70-60.

Then he grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end and hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to all but put the game away with just less than two minutes remaining.

Neither team led by more than five until the Sooners executed the game’s final lead change with a 7-0 run to take a 59-53 lead with just less than nine minutes remaining in regulation.

Oklahoma ended the game scoring 25 of the final 36 points.

–Field Level Media

Bryce Thompson scored 18 points and Oklahoma State turned a 12-point halftime lead into a 39-point bulge with about nine minutes left in the second half en route to an 82-56 home rout of Tulsa on Friday night.

Moussa Cisse had 12 points and eight rebounds and Tyreek Smith scored 10 points with seven boards for the Cowboys (4-2), who shot 48.5 percent from the field (32 of 66) and dominated in points in the paint 44-30.

Thompson sank 4 of 8 from 3-point territory, with the team at 9 of 27 (33 percent).

Keyshawn Embery-Simpson scored 10 points to lead the Golden Hurricane (2-4), whose 19 turnovers led to 18 points for the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State scored the first 10 points of the second half to open a 51-29 lead with 17:38 remaining.

Tulsa’s Sterling Gaston-Chapman (seven points, five rebounds) was ejected at the 17:44 mark after committing a flagrant 2 foul.

Avery Anderson III and Smith each scored four points to spark an 11-2 spurt that put ahead the Cowboys 64-37 with 12:31 to go. The outcome never was in doubt after that.

Oklahoma State’s lead reached 39 points when Anderson sank two free throws at 8:49.

Thompson scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to help Oklahoma State grab a 41-29 advantage after one half.

The Golden Hurricane, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the half, committed twice as many turnovers as the Cowboys (12-6) and were outscored in the paint 22-14.

With the score tied at 16, Oklahoma State proceeded to score the next 12 points to go ahead 28-16 at with 5:37 left. Thompson sank two 3-pointers and Cisse added two baskets to fuel the run.

The Cowboys missed their first eight shots and scored their first points 5:31 into the game when John-Michael Wright hit a 3-pointer.

–Field Level Media

Santiago Vescovi scored 20 points with six rebounds and Zakai Zeigler added 14 points as No. 22 Tennessee went wire-to-wire Friday to win the title of the Battle 4 Atlantis event with a 64-50 victory over No. 3 Kansas at Paradise Island, Bahamas.

The Volunteers’ defense made its presence felt, holding the Jayhawks to 32.1 percent shooting from the field, while forcing 16 turnovers.

Tyreke Key scored 10 points for Tennessee (5-1), which outrebounded Kansas 45-27. It was the Volunteers’ third victory over the Jayhawks in seven all-time meetings, but their second consecutive after also winning two seasons ago when both teams also were ranked.

Jalen Wilson and Joseph Yesufu each scored 14 points for the defending national champion Jayhawks (6-1), who not only lost for the first time this season, they saw their 17-game winning streak come to an end. Kansas’ Bobby Pettiford played just three minutes because of an injury.

Both teams needed overtime while winning their semifinal games Thursday, with Tennessee appearing to be the fresher team in the early going.

The Volunteers opened the game with a 7-0 run and were on top the duration of the first half despite committing 17 turnovers. Tennessee led by as many as nine points in the first half and took a 33-25 into the break with the aid of 53.8 percent shooting (7 of 13) from 3-point range.

After going 1 of 8 from 3-point range in Thursday’s semifinal victory over Southern California, Vescovi was 3 of 4 from deep in the first half and had nine points. He ended 5 of 14 from deep in the game.

Kansas pulled within 37-34 with 14:28 remaining after a 3-pointer from Yesufu, but would get no closer. Tennessee took its first double-digit lead at 48-38 with 10:47 remaining after a free throw from Zeigler.

The Volunteers took control with an 11-0 run midway through the second half, while opening their largest advantage at 56-38. That run came as Tennessee’s defense held Kansas without a point for a 4:11 stretch.

–Field Level Media

Blake Hinson recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds and John Hugley IV had 16 and seven, respectively, as host Pittsburgh rode a second-half surge to an 80-64 victory over William & Mary on Friday.

Hinson’s double-double was his second of the season. He had 27 points and 13 rebounds in the Panthers’ 80-58 win over UT Martin in the season opener on Nov. 7.

Jamarius Burton also scored 16 points and Nike Sibande added 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists off the bench for the Panthers (4-3), who outscored the Tribe (3-4) by a 47-27 margin in the second half.

Pittsburgh won its third game in a row after shooting 43.5 percent from the floor (27 of 62) and 39.3 percent from 3-point range (11 of 28).

Ben Wight collected a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds to pace William & Mary.

Wight had scored 21 on three occasions, most recently in the Tribe’s 76-67 win over Army on Saturday.

Anders Nelson recorded 12 points and six assists for William & Mary, which saw its modest two-game winning streak come to a halt and fell to 0-3 away from home.

Pittsburgh transfer Noah Collier scored just four points before fouling out for the Tribe.

Wight followed up his 13-point performance in the first half by starting off strong to begin the second. He had a dunk, layup and jumper in the first 3:23 to give William & Mary a 45-43 lead.

Pittsburgh, however, promptly took control after that surge. Burton, Nelly Cummings, Hugley and Sibande each sank a 3-pointer as the Panthers enjoyed a 30-8 run to seize a 73-53 advantage.

Sibande capped that run with a three-point play and a layup, and Pttsburgh was not seriously threatened the rest of the way.

William & Mary seized a 26-19 lead on the strength of a 12-2 run, highlighted by one 3-pointer apiece by Gabe Dorsey and Nelson.

Pittsburgh answered that surge with one of its own to claim a 33-31 advantage, but Wight made a layup and Jack Karasinski added two more to propel the Tribe to a four-point lead at halftime.

–Field Level Media

Jalen Pickett finished with 18 points and eight assists to guide Penn State to a 70-57 home victory over Lafayette on Friday evening in University Park, Pa.

Seth Lundy contributed 15 points and seven rebounds for the Nittany Lions (6-1), who held the Leopards to eight points in the first 13 minutes of the second half to pull away for the win. Camren Wynter chipped in 11 points for Penn State.

Leo O’Boyle led Lafayette (1-6) with 19 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. As a team, the Leopards shot just 31 percent from the field. CJ Fulton contributed 10 rebounds and five assists to go with five points.

Lafayette led 19-12 after about eight minutes had elapsed before Penn State drew even with seven straight points, including five by Pickett.

The teams were still tied, this time at 28-28 with six minutes left in the half, before the Nittany Lions unleashed a 14-4 run to close the session. Lundy and Pickett combined for all 14 of Penn State’s points during the burst, with Pickett’s late layup sending the hosts into the break with a 42-32 advantage.

Pickett finished the first half with 14 points and five assists, while Lundy added 10 points. The Nittany Lions shot 57.1 percent in the half (including 8 of 16 from 3-point range) and committed only three turnovers.

O’Boyle led Lafayette with 10 first-half points.

The second half got ugly in a hurry, as Penn State scored 15 of the first 17 points to go ahead 57-34. Five different Nittany Lions players scored during the run, with Andrew Funk and Wynter each draining a 3-pointer and Kebba Njie registering a three-point play.

T.J. Berger knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to get the visitors within 17, but Penn State responded with nine straight points — capped by Lundy’s 3-pointer — and the Leopards never seriously threatened again.

–Field Level Media

Patrick McCaffery scored a team-high 21 points as No. 25 Iowa held off a furious rally by Clemson to win 74-71 on Friday night in the semifinals of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.

Iowa (5-0) will move on to the championship game on Saturday against the winner of the Cal-TCU game later Friday night. Clemson (4-2) will face the Golden Bears-Horned Frogs loser in a consolation matchup.

After trailing by 14 with just under eight minutes to play, Clemson battled back to tie it up at 64-64 with 2:54 remaining. The Hawkeyes went back in front and led 68-65 after a layup by Filip Rebraca with 35 seconds to go.

The Tigers had a chance to tie it up with under 30 seconds left, but Brevin Galloway’s 3-point shot rimmed out.

Tony Perkins sank a pair of free throws to make it 70-65, but Chase Hunter’s trey pulled the Tigers back to within 72-71 with under five seconds remaining. Perkins sank two more foul shots (making him 6-for-6 at the line in the final 20 seconds) with 1.5 seconds left to seal the win for Iowa.

Nine of Perkins’ 11 points came from the charity stripe.

Clemson held red-hot Kris Murray to just 10 points and 0-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc, but it wasn’t enough as McCaffery picked up the slack, going 7-for-14 from the field. Murray grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

Hunter led the Tigers with 21 points, hitting on 2 of 5 from long distance while adding six assists. Hunter Tyson ended the night with 13 points, pulling down eight rebounds in the losing effort. Beadle added eight points off the bench as the Tigers’ three-game win streak came to a halt.

Iowa was held to a season-low 38.3 percent shooting, and the Hawkeyes made only 4 of 19 attempts from 3-point range (21.1 percent).

After starting the game 1-for-7 from the field, Clemson shot 40.6 percent on the night and 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from deep.

Despite Hunter being limited to just 10 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Clemson was able to keep it close, trailing just 34-27 at the break. Redshirt freshman Josh Beadle helped keep Clemson in it with six points off the bench in place of Hunter.

McCaffery would score five consecutive points coming out of the half, though, pushing the Iowa lead to 39-27. The Tigers would immediately respond by going on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to four at 41-37, fueled by two Tyson 3-point shots.

The Hawkeyes would quickly push the lead back out to double digits at 51-41 with 12:44 to play. Iowa would then amp up the defensive pressure, holding the Tigers without a bucket for more than three minutes, while pushing the lead to 60-46 with 7:58 remaining in the game.

–Field Level Media

Trey Bonham scored a game-high 19 points Saturday as Florida coasted past Oregon State 81-68 in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Portland, Ore.

The Gators (4-2) led all the way – starting off with a 17-2 bulge and keeping the Beavers at arm’s length the rest of the way. They will play Sunday for fifth place in the Legacy event while the Beavers (3-3) will play in the seventh-place game.

A transfer from VMI, Bonham entered the tourney having scored only 14 points in Florida’s first four games with 11 of those against Florida State earlier in the week. He has 42 points in the Gators’ two games in the Phil Knight tourney.

Bonham was one of four Gators in double figures in the win over the Beavers. Will Richard scored 13 points, Colin Castleton 12, and Riley Kugel 10.

Jordan Pope and Tyler Bilodeau each scored 12 points for Oregon State while Michael Rataj added 11.

With 13 points, Bonham was the only player in double figures for either team in the first half.

The Gators went 6-of-8 to start the game and never really cooled off, posting a second consecutive game of better than 50 percent shooting, finishing with a season-high 56.6 percent on 30-of-53 shooting.

The Gators jumped out to a 9-0 lead, increased that to double digits (13-2) less than five minutes into the game, and were sitting on a 23-point cushion with under five minutes left in the first half before the Beavers came to life.

After OSU made only four of its first 20 shots, the Beavers finished the first half by making 6 of 7 to trim their deficit to 40-26 at the break.

They shot well in the second half – 55% (16 of 29) – which enabled them to trim a 20-point deficit at the 8:45 mark of the game down to 13 points on five occasions the rest of the way but they could get no closer.

–Field Level Media

Jayden Gardner scored a season-high 26 points for No. 5 Virginia in a wire-to-wire 72-45 home victory Friday night against Maryland Eastern Shore in Charlottesville, Va.

Kadin Shedrick added 13 points for the Cavaliers (5-0), who shot 52.9 percent for the game. Gardner, who scored a total of 31 points in the first four games, made 12 of 15 shots from the field.

Maryland Eastern Shore (2-4) fell to 0-4 on the road. Zion Styles topped the Hawks with 11 points and Nathaniel Pollard Jr. added nine points and six rebounds.

On a night when they matched a season low with five 3-pointers, the Cavaliers controlled the action inside the arc against the smaller Hawks. Virginia outscored UMES 40-22 in the paint.

The Hawks shot just 34.5 percent overall and 16.7 percent (3 of 18) from long distance. They turned the ball over 15 times, which the Cavaliers turned into 20 points.

Reece Beekman had nine points and four steals and Kihei Clark added five points and eight assists for Virginia.

The Cavaliers were up 58-34 after a Gardner layup, Shedrick’s steal and dunk and Gardner’s second-chance layup with 12:19 left.

Virginia led by at least 20 points the rest of the way.

The Cavaliers took their largest lead at 72-43 on a 3-pointer by Chase Coleman with 32 seconds left.

Virginia improved to 21-0 all-time against current members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The Cavaliers also improved to 108-2 under coach Tony Bennett when holding opponents under 50 points.

Virginia started fast, scoring the game’s first eight points and building a 20-4 lead in the first eight minutes.

The Cavaliers led 40-20 with 1:49 remaining in the half after three straight buckets by Gardner.

Gardner, whose previous season high was 12 points, scored 18 in the first half as Virginia led 40-22 at the break.

–Field Level Media

Kendric Davis scored 21 points to lead four Tigers who finished in double figures in Memphis’ 73-61 victory over Nebraska in the consolation bracket of the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Davis shot 9 of 19 from the field, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range, and added seven assists. DeAndre Williams posted 16 points and seven rebounds. Alex Lomax had 13 points, which included him making both of his 3-point attempts, to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Keonte Kennedy chipped in 10 points.

Memphis (3-2) advanced to the fifth-place game on Sunday morning against Stanford, which defeated Florida State 70-60 on Friday. Nebraska (3-3) will face the Seminoles in the seventh-place game on Sunday night.

The Tigers, who led by as many as 16 in the second half, shot 29 of 59 (49.2 percent) from the field, including 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) from beyond the arc.

Memphis scored 19 points off Nebraska’s 20 turnovers.

The Cornhuskers were led by Emmanuel Bandoumel, who had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Derrick Walker had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Keisei Tominaga added 11 points.

Nebraska shot 22 of 51 (43.1 percent) from the field, including 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

Leading 33-30 at halftime, Memphis opened the second half on a 12-5 run capped by Lomax’s 3-pointer for a 45-35 advantage with 15:42 left in the game.

Another five points by Lomax made it 52-42 with 12:27 to go, and the Tigers led by no fewer than eight the rest of the way.

After Memphis jumped out to a 14-4 lead midway through the first half, the Cornhuskers chipped away at the lead to pull to within 33-30 at intermission.

Davis scored 10 first-half points and Kennedy added seven for Memphis, which shot 14 of 29 (48.3 percent) from the field, including 5 of 12 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Cornhuskers were led by Tominaga’s eight points, while Juwan Gary and Walker added six points apiece. Nebraska shot 12 of 29 (41.4 percent) from the field, including 6 of 14 (42.9 percent) from distance.

–Field Level Media